This Week’s Pendulum

The Pendulum is your weekly survey of America's top trending topics. This week: More states have legalized gay marriage; a new generation of gospel; what does Bad Teacher say about America's education; The BET Awards: the good, the bad, and the why?; and much more.

Last weekend, New York became the 6th state to legalize gay marriage. Attempts to legalize same-sex marriage failed two years earlier. Governor Andrew Cuomo made campaign promises to legalize gay marriage in New York and his political strategy was successful. The law passed with a 33 to 29 vote. New York joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia in granting same-sex marriage licenses. Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington have same-sex union laws. Colorado, Wisconsin and Maine grant limited rights to same-sex couples. With more states examining their legal stance on same-sex marriage, it is clear that this issue will not be going away anytime soon.

Researchers have found a more affordable material for cleaning water in developing countries: sand. The sand is mixed with dispersed graphite oxide and then used to purify water. Many countries around the world need access to clean drinking water and the World Health Organization claims that “just 60% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa and 50% of the population in Oceania use improved sources of drinking-water.” According to water.org, 1 in 8 people do not have access to clean water and 3.5 million people die each year from water-related disease. Continued research in hydrology will improve the lives for millions of people around the world.

Since the 2001 terrorists’ attacks, the United States government and Transportation Security Administration have beefed up homeland security with newly created agencies and processes. Unfortunately the attempts to make Americans “safer” have often resulted in a loss of privacy and constitutional rights for U.S. citizens. This is the case with Jean Weber’s 95 year old mother. Weber was travelling with her cancer stricken mother from Florida to Michigan. Weber’s mother was among the “3% of passengers who are subject to pat-downs.” The TSA agent told Weber that her mother’s undergarment was “wet and firm, and they couldn’t check it thoroughly.” She was forced to remove the adult diaper in a private bathroom, but her mother did have to travel through the airport without undergarments. TSA officials stand by their agents’ actions, but Americans won’t continue to stand for this type of humiliation and disrespect under the guise of protection.

Jonathan McReynolds is not your average gospel artist. He’s not backed by choirs, or trying to keep up with the latest auto-tune or dance craze. He comes to the stage with an acoustic guitar and seemlessly interweaves India Arie’s lyrics into his single, “No Gray” that begins, “Lord, I’m split in two, part of me loves the world and the other loves you…” He goes on to confess his “luke warm” committment and comes to the conclusion that he will have to choose. This is the sort of open honesty I have yet to see in gospel artist. They are either super holy or trying so hard to be mainstream that thier message is lost. I am so excited to see McReynolds flourish! He’s going to be huge!

Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal star in Bad Teacher, which opened nationwide in theaters this weekend. The tagline for the film is “Some teachers just don’t give a F,” which isn’t far from the true story of Vanderbilt University’s scientific study where they offered cash rewards to teachers that had classes with high test scores. At the conclusion of Vanderbilt’s study, the incentives were not enough to raise the test scores. But, what is this saying about our education system? Is this film a fair interpretation of our education crisis? Are there more factors at play?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that unemployment is at 9.1% (May 2011). While this is lower than the 10.1% we experienced in October 2009, it is still much higher than the 7.8% unemployment rate the country was at when President Obama took office. With several jobs obsolete because of technology and cheap labor overseas, smart jobs may help rebuild the U.S. economy. Smart jobs come with titles such as technician, specialist or analyst and they involve manipulating materials like plastics and chemicals. Although similar to factory work, smart jobs require more brain power than physical labor. Over the last 5 years there has been a 56.8% gain in the job category “Renewables and the Environment,” 29.8% gain in the “Internet” and 29.1% gain in “Online Publishing” (wired.com). Brush up on your tech skills because future jobs will require them.

The most important technology riddle in business of late has been what is more valuable: Twitter or Facebook? Although fans on Twitter are more likely to buy from brands they follow, Facebook offers advertisements to 550 million members worldwide. Facebook is referred as “push marketing,” allowing brands to push content or services through incentives and rewards for interaction. Twitter is referred to as “pull marketing,” where fans seek out brands, start discussions, and use the service as a customer support service. Both are necessary for now, and neither seem to be going away anytime soon.

The Good: Jill Scott always knows how to class up any event.; Kevin Hart’s roast was hilarious!; and Beyonce’s performance of her new song “End of Time,” has the possibility to be a timeless anthem. The Bad: I wish that Rick Ross would keep his shirt on and that Kelly Rowland would stop devaluing herself to the status of a stripper, and WHY does BET feel the need to combine strip teases and gospel music in one event? Black people!!! Get it together.

Paula Patton will play the female lead in Mission Impossible 4, alongside Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, and Jeremy Renner. The film opens December 16, 2011, but the French trailer recently leaked online. Patton was last seen in Jumping the Broom, but looks like she is returning to her roots with this film; she starred alongside Denzel Washington in action thriller Deja Vu. The English trailer should premiere next week. Watch the French trailer below!

I love a man that takes risks, and Kevin Hart has been on a campaign to be a household name. He currently stars in an eBay, Ford, and Nike commercials; his comedy tour, Seriously Funny, has sold out shows, and yesterday he was hilarious at the BET Awards. Hart has shown diversity in his ability to market various brands, be relevant in the Black community, but not be afraid to poke fun at the Black entertainment industry as he did last night at the awards with his roast. Hopefully, his baby mama drama won’t plague his career.

Stephanie Imani LaFlora is coordinating producer of UrbanFaith.com and UMI Media. A writer, editor, and social-media whiz, she's a 2009 graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a degree in screenwriting.